Remember that time I told you about the best banana cake I’ve ever had?
I enjoyed obsessed over it at a family reunion the other weekend. My cousin made it and I stalked her down like a dessert creep and proceeded to talk her ear off about cream cheese frosting and spotty bananas for 35 minutes straight.
What? You don’t do that at parties?
It was the moistest cake I’ve ever eaten. Stick-to-the-back of your fork moist. The perfect cream cheese frosting, both sweet and tangy, sinking into the top of the cake made it even moister. Sweet, but not overpowering. Mega banana flavor, certainly more banana flavor than any banana bread I’ve ever eaten. Very buttery and cakey from creaming the butter and sugars. Just a ridiculously rich, decadent dessert.
The banana cake was dense, but not heavy. If that makes any sense? (Coming from the lady who talks about rotting bananas at social gatherings, but stick with me here.) The crumb was very soft, but they were tight crumbs. The cake didn’t fall apart when you took a forkful.
She told me this cake comes out perfect every time she makes it. And such perfection is reinforced, she told me, when absolutely everyone who has a slice begs her for the recipe. It is, hands down, the best banana cake I’ve ever had.
And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
How to Make Banana Cake
The recipe starts with 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas, or about 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas (above). Now, make sure those bananas are nice and spotty. The bananas you see above are just right (and it’s what you want for banana bread, chocolate banana bread, and banana muffins, too). More brown spots = sweeter, more banana flavor. Your cake will thank you. I simply mash the bananas in my mixer—the same mixer I use for creaming the butter and sugars. Beat the bananas on high speed for a minute, then transfer to another bowl. I don’t even wash the mixing bowl—just throw the butter right in and start creaming!
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes and I do this often. Thaw the frozen bananas at room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe below. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
Here’s the batter. There will be some lumps.
One more thing to note: buttermilk. As you guessed, buttermilk is the moist-maker in this cake. The cake wouldn’t be what it is without it! You also need the acid in buttermilk to help the baking soda do its job. I rarely have buttermilk in my refrigerator, so I always sour whole milk instead. For this recipe, you need 1 and 1/2 cups of buttermilk. If you don’t keep buttermilk on hand either, you can make this buttermilk substitute: measure 1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar. Pour into a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. Stir together, let it sit for 5 minutes, then use in the recipe. To keep the cake extra rich, I recommend whole milk when you are souring milk.
Is this not the silkiest and smoothest cream cheese frosting you’ve ever seen? Well, it’s the silkiest and smoothest cream cheese frosting I’ve ever tasted! It’s pretty similar to our cream cheese frosting that we use for carrot cake, but there’s a little less cream cheese for the amount of butter. So, this makes the frosting a little more silky. And definitely more buttery!
There’s also a lot of cream cheese frosting. When you begin slathering it onto the cake, you’ll probably go “Sally, this is way too much frosting!” But it’s not. You want a nice thick layer. It’s essential.
If you love baking with brown butter, the brown butter cream cheese frosting from my zucchini cake would be fantastic here. If you are not into cream cheese frosting or just want to try something different, try it with traditional vanilla buttercream, this salted caramel frosting, or even white chocolate buttercream frosting instead. All are seriously delicious combinations!
The best banana cake I’ve ever had. We love it so much we turned it into a chocolate marble banana Bundt cake and banana cupcakes, too. And if you can’t get enough sheet cakes, you’ll want to try this fresh apple cake next!
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The Best Banana Cake I’ve Ever Had
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is absolutely the best banana cake I’ve ever had! It’s supremely moist with cream cheese frosting, tons of banana, brown sugar, and cinnamon flavor.
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 4 medium or 3 large bananas)
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13-inch pan.
- Make the cake: Mash the bananas. I usually just use my mixer for this! Set mashed bananas aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy—about 1 minute. Add both sugars and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the mashed bananas. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. The batter will be slightly thick and a few lumps is OK.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45–50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. After about 45 minutes, I usually place it in the refrigerator to speed things up.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar (I add it). Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. This helps sets the frosting and makes cutting easier.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare cake through step 6. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve. Frosted or unfrosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature, and then frost if needed and serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Pan | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Icing Spatula
- Frozen Bananas: You can use frozen bananas here. Thaw the frozen bananas. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. You can make your own DIY buttermilk substitute if needed. Add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough room temperature whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 1/2 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
- Cupcakes: I’ve gotten a few questions about turning this cake into cupcakes. For about 2 dozen cupcakes, fill the cupcake liners halfway and bake for about 20-22 minutes. Same oven temperature.
- Can I Turn This into a Banana Bundt Cake? I recommend using my extremely similar recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. (There’s a little extra baking powder for lift, which is helpful when baking in a large Bundt pan.) You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe.
- Layer Cake: I use this recipe to make my banana layer cake. If you want to make a 2 layer cake, divide batter between 2 greased 9-inch cake pans, and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 26-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally can I use self raising flour instead of plain flour?
Hi Vivian, we don’t recommend it. Self-raising flour has varying amounts of leaveners, so it wouldn’t necessarily be a 1:1 swap with the leaveners here. We recommend using all-purpose flour + baking powder and baking soda as listed for best results.
I just put your banana cake into the oven. I have looked over some of your other recipes-lemon cupcake with blackberry cream cheese icing- and I love that they are reminiscent of my Grandmother’s receipt. Real food. No excuses, real, good flavors and make sense recipes. Thankyou, keep them coming!
Thanks Deborah! I will. I hope you enjoy this cake!
DANG!!! SALLY’S RIGHT! Absolutely the best!
I never write reviews but I had to for this Banana cake.
It was fabulous! Flavorful, moist and tender..
I made this twice this week. The first time, the cake part was more like banana bread. I was disappointed but everyone else loved it. I think they liked it because of the icing. I realized my mistake when I made it the second time. I put double baking soda and no baking powder in the batter. What a difference the baking powder makes. It really is the best banana cake ever now.
Can I use sour cream as substitiute for the buttermilk?
Hi Sheila, sour cream will be a little too thick. See recipe Notes for details on making your own DIY buttermilk!
HI! Can I substitute olive oil instead of butter? Have you tried that yet?
Hi Emi, we don’t recommend subbing liquid oil for butter, which is a solid at room temp. You could try using solid coconut oil instead, but we fear the texture will be greasy (and, of course, lacking the butter flavor).
This is fantastic! I’d like to try 1/2 a recipe but not sure how to do that with three eggs. Is there a way to do it?
Hi Valerie, you can crack an egg into a bowl, beat it with a fork, and then measure out 2 Tablespoons to use in the recipe, which equates to about half an egg. Hope this helps!
I really enjoyed this recipe for Bananna Cake because I forgot the very last ingredient (buttermilk) and I really just judged at the Flour & sugar amounts and low & behold My cake was now bananna bread cake!! Was delicious!!
I made this cake yesterday and ate it today. The top was dry and bottom was gummy. Any idea what I did wrong ? I’d like to learn from my mistake.
Hi Alison, if the bottom of the cake was gummy, it sounds like it was under baked and could use a few additional minutes in the oven. For next time, you can extend the bake time a bit and tent the top of the cake with aluminum foil so that the top does not dry out. Thank you for giving this one a try!
Can you ice the cake a day before?
Absolutely.
What is the depth of pan please?
Hi Carole, we typically use a 9×13 pan that is 2 inches deep.
Didn’t have your size so divided in a 8.5 x 8.5 and 8.5 x 5, absolutely fab…..hubby don’t like cake but he likes this…EVEN THE FROSTING! (Which is the best I’ve ever made)
Hey Sally! I want to make a smaller version of this cake. I have an 9×9 metal pan or an 8×8 metal pan and glass dish. How do you recommend reducing the recipe? Should I cut it in half? How high should I fill the pan?
Hi Jessica, you can halve this recipe for an 8×8 baking dish. The bake time will be shorter, though we can’t say exactly how long. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. For the eggs, use 1 egg then crack a 2nd egg, beat it, and use half of the mixture. Happy baking!
I can’t make this cake again because I almost ate the whole thing
Will only make it from now on when there’s a crowd, but so pleased with how it turned out! Ridiculously delicious
I think your banana cake is delicious! Can I use this recipe to make chocolate banana cake? If so, how would I do that? Would it make a 9 x 13” cake?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Patti, we wouldn’t recommend adding cocoa powder to the batter, as it’s a very drying ingredient and would require other recipe tweaks, but you can definitely add mini chocolate chips. Toss them in a Tablespoon of flour before adding them, to help keep them from sinking in the batter. You could also top with chocolate buttercream, or you might enjoy this chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. Enjoy!
this cake was amazing
I made this as cupcakes for my husband’s oncology nurses, and they loved them. I added a little ginger for an extra umph.
Can I half this recipe?
Hi Vallery, yes, that should work just fine.
This genuinely is the best banana cake I’ve ever tasted. I was a little worried because the battery seemed so loose when I poured it in the pan, but it came out perfectly and I can’t imagine making it another way again.
If you’re unsure whether to try this recipe or not this is the sign that you should do it. This is one of the best recipes I’ve tried. It’s dense, it’s fluffy, it’s moist, it’s rich, it’s banana-ey, it’s everything it’s trying to be and not failing at anything.
I will admit that I used another topping than the frosting though. Covered the cake in a layer of dark melted chocolate, then coffee-and chocolate whipped cream, shaved dark chocolate, some chocolate sprinkle balls (what do you call those?) and sliced bananas. One of the best things I’ve ever made or ate in my life when it comes to dessert. Don’t skip it!
I have Celiacs and want less sugar. I made this with King Arthur gluten-free cup for cup. Lakanto monk fruit and swerve brown sugar. It turned out great. My family loves it. I make this cake at least once a month.
I made this yesterday, OMG. I’m a seasoned baker, and this – THIS – is the best banana cake in the history of banana cakes. WOW. Doubled the cinnamon because I like it, subbed 1/4 c of yogurt for one of the eggs because I was short, but seriously WOW. Considering cutting a slab for breakfast – it has fruit and eggs in it, so that’s okay, right? 😉
If I don’t want to use eggs, what can I swap them for? Thanks.
Hi Sandhya, we haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes, but let us know if you do any experimenting.
Fabulous cake, best banana cake I’ve made. But I made it a bit more diabetic friendly by leaving off the icing and topped it with 3/4 cup chopped walnuts and 2 tabs brown sugar with 20g butter rubbed in, then sprinked over cake batter and cooked as stated. Result – beautiful moist cake with a slightly crunchy topping. Thx for this wonderful recipe.
This was a mistake! My God in heaven, give me the strength not to eat this in one sitting. I had extra ripe bananas and some buttermilk i needed to use so I googled this recipe. Just so you know, if you accidentally add an additional stick of butter to the cake, it doesn’t ruin it. Heaven!
This was amazing. Incredibly moist!
Hello, I have tried to print other recipes from this site. The titles and the bold text is cut off and some of the text is jibberish. (Boxes with question marks). I have tried changing to the 3 text sizes available, save to pdf then print, 2 pages per sheet. Every available printing option. Any Ideas? Thank You!
Hi Kay! Usually when this happens there may be a problem with your printer – outdated software or not communicating with your computer correctly. Sorry we can’t help more!
I have to give up on this one!!
I love all your recipes and am a huge fan but I just can’t get this recipe to work.
I’ve bought new baking soda and powder, used all different degrees of ripe bananas, even bought new scales just so I could taste this cake and not be defeated. It comes out of the oven perfect every time, tested with a tooth pick I turn my back and it sinks.
I have come to the conclusion that Australian bananas are different to US bananas ;-).
So I’ll continue to cook all your other delicious recipes and leave this one alone.
Hi Del! Any chance you’re using a pan smaller than 9×13 – if the batter is too thick, it is hard to bake properly and will often fall.
Omg!!!! This recipe is outstanding. BEST Banana recipe I’ve ever used
what size round baking pan do I use for your banana cake?
Hi Victor, we use 9-inch round cake pans for our banana layer cake recipe.